INFLUENCES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEK ARCHITECTURE

2. INFLUENCES OF
THE DEVELOPMENT
OF GREEK
ARCHITECTURE

3. Greece is surrounded
on the north by
Bulgaria, the Republic
of Macedonia and
Albania; to the west
by the Ionian Sea; to
the south by the
Mediterranean Sea
and to the east by the
Aegean Sea and
Turkey.
 GEOGRAPHICAL

4.  GEOLOGICAL
The chief mineral
wealth of Greece was
in her unrivalled
marble, the most
beautiful and
monumental of all
building materials,
and one which
facilitates exactness
of line and refinement
of detail.
Elgin Marbles

5.  CLIMATIC
Greece’s climate varies
according to region. The
southern and central
portions of the country
experience the traditional
Mediterranean climate of
hot, dry summers and mild,
wet winters. The
continental climate of
northern Greece is marked
by colder winters.

6.  RELIGIOUS
The ancient Greeks worshiped many gods within a culture that
tolerated diversity. Unlike other belief systems, Greek culture
recognized no single truth or code and produced no sacred, written
text like the Bible or the Qur’an.
ZEUS
- The
supreme
god, ruler
of the sky

7. HERA
- Wife of ZEUS, goddess of marriage
APOLLO
- God of prophecy, medicine and archery

8. ATHENA
- Goddess of wisdom and learning. Helper
of heroes
POSEIDON
- The sea god

9. DIONYSOS
-God of wine and vegetation
DEMETER
-Goddess of grain

10. ARTEMIS
- Goddess of chase
HERMES
- Messenger of the gods

11. Aphrodite
- God of commerce, love and
sexual desire and beauty
Phaestus
- God of fire, flame and forge. God of
handicrafts

12. Ares
- God of war
Heracles
- God of strength and labor pan

13. Hestia
- Goddess of hearth and home
Nike
- Goddess of vitory

14. PAN
- God of shepherds and flocks
Asclepius
- God of medicine

15. Cronus
-God of the sky, ruler of the titans
Eros
- God of love

16. GAEA
-Mother Earth

17. The Erechtheum
The temple
contained
sanctuaries to
Athena Polias,
Poseidon,
Erechtheus
and
Hephaestus.

18. The Temple of Apollo
The temple of Apollo was made in the 5th century BC but not finished until the 4th century

19. The Temple of Zeus
The temple of Zeus was most recognized as the perfect Doric example. It was located
in the Altis and considered the most important architecture.

20. The Temple of Athena Nike
The temple of Athena Nike, the goddess of victory, was the earliest Ionic building on
the Acropolis (Hyman, 94).

21. The architecture that was used in everyday homes and living
environments promoted a very social lifestyle. This was done
by having their homes face inwards, with gardens and windows
facing a central courtyard. The courtyard was located in the
middle of the house and it was where regular meals and social
gatherings of friends and family would take place.
 SOCIAL
A traditional Greek home had a block-like formation. It was
composed of various rooms surrounding a central
courtyard. Though it had no outward facing windows and little
decoration, this style of house promoted a social lifestyle. The
courtyard was the most notable section of the house because
of the atmosphere. It would be an outdoor room surrounded
by a veranda where owners of the home, and their friends and
family, would take part in meals, business, and gatherings

23. Theatres in Ancient Greece
In ancient Greece, going to the theatre was important for a person living in Greece.
The theatres in Greece provided many different things such as comedies, tragedies,
satyrs and orchestras that honored the gods and goddesses.

24.  POLITICAL
Five main forms of government existed in ancient Greece over the several thousand
years of its history. The distinguishing factor among them was whether they
depended on a strong central authority or on shared authority.
 Monarchs governed the Minoans and Mycenaeans. Sometimes called “princes” to
indicate that they ruled a limited local territory instead of a widespread kingdom,
these rulers combined political and religious functions. The rulers surrounded
themselves with many servants and officials in their palace complexes. The
monarchs lived more luxurious lives than their subjects because they controlled the
surpluses produced by farmers and craft workers.
 Chiefdoms, the weakest form of central authority, prevailed during the Greek Dark
Age. Chiefs had a higher status and more wealth than their followers, but could only
govern successfully as long as their followers agreed to cooperate. Chiefdoms
became unstable if followers became too ambitious. Chiefs tried to secure their
leadership with displays of status, such as the imported Middle Eastern jewelry
found in the grave of a chief and his wife who were buried about 950 BC on the
island of Euboea (Évvoia).

25.  Tyrants were sole rulers who took over city-states, generally during the
Archaic or Classical periods, and established dynasties for their families.
The most long-lived tyrannies existed in Corinth and city-states on Sicily,
but even these tended to last no more than a couple of generations. The
masses generally supported tyranny because tyrants benefited them with
public employment, but the rich hated the system because it cost them
power and money.
 In city-states with an oligarchy, government was shared by a limited group
of people (oligoi). Some oligarchic city-states had only a handful of leaders
sharing authority; others had several hundred. Some city-states had an
aristocracy (rule by the best, the aristoi), a type of oligarchy in which
leaders were selected only from privileged families. The justification for
oligarchy was that pure equality for citizens was morally inequitable
because people were not the same. The idea was that some were more
capable, more devoted, and more intelligent and thus deserved to rule the
masses.

26.  HISTORICAL
A. Periods of Development
 Aegean or Early Period (3000 BC – 700 BC)
• It was centered at two locations; the island of Crete and the Greek
mainland
• around Mycenae
• The civilization was only discovered in the 18th century following
• archeological work.
• The Aegean civilization occurred during the period 2000 B.C. to 1100
B.C.
• Two cultures flourished during the period; Cretan and Mycenaean
• The two cultures though related in detail, were not contemporary
• The Cretan civilization, also known as Minoan civilization after its
most famous king Minos of Knossos, occurred first, starting around
2000 B. C.
• It flourished until the period 1400 B.C. to 1100 B. C. when it was
completed obliterated

27.  Mycenean or Helladic Period (1400 – 1100 BC)
Helladic is a modern archaeological term meant to identify a sequence of periods
characterizing the culture of mainland ancient Greece during the Bronze Age
The scheme applies
primarily to pottery and is
a relative dating system.
The pottery at any given
site typically can be
ordered into "Early",
"Middle" and "Late" on the
basis of style and
technique. Other objects
can be arranged into early,
middle and late as well, but
pottery is used as a marker.

28.  Hellenic Greece (800 – 323 BC)
Ancient Greece in the eighth through fourth centuries BC, between the Greek Dark Ages
and the Hellenistic period, is referred to as Hellenic Greece. It is made up of two
epochs:
• Archaic Greece (c.750–c.500)
The termini of the Archaic period are defined as the "structural revolution",
meaning a sudden upsurge of population and material goods that occurred c. 750
BC, and the "intellectual revolution" of classical Greece.[1] The end of archaism is
conventionally marked by Xerxes' invasion of Greece in 480 BC.
• Classical Greece (c.500–c.300)
In the context of the art, architecture, and culture of Ancient Greece, the
Classical period, sometimes called the Hellenic period, corresponds to most of
the 5th and 4th centuries BC (the most common dates being the fall of the last
Athenian tyrant in 510 BC to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC).

29.  Hellenistic Greece (323 – 30 BC
The Hellenistic period is the period of ancient Greek and
Mediterranean history between the death of Alexander the
Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire as
signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC[1] and the
subsequent conquest of Ptolemaic Egypt in 30 BC.[2] At this
time, Greek cultural influence and power was at its peak in
Europe, Africa and Asia, experiencing prosperity and
progress in the arts, exploration, literature, theatre,
architecture, music, mathematics, philosophy, and science.

30. B. ARCHITECTURAL CHARACTER
 Aegean Architecture (3000 – 1100 BC)
Characteristics Features:
• Low pitch or flat roof on multi-storey structures
• Stairway was developed for vertical circulation
• Houses termed as “Megaron” and palaces were principal building types
Megaron areas:
• Enclosed porch
• Living apartment or megaron proper
• Thalamus or sleeping room

31. 4. Four methods of walling surface finishes
1.Cyclopean – a masonry made up of huge stone blocks laid “mortar”

32. 2. Polygonal – a masonry which is constructed with stones having polygonal faces

33. 3. Rectangular – block of stone cut into rectangular shapes

34. 4. nclined blocks – stones with inclined blocks

35. Character of Greek Architecture
• Simplicity and harmony
• Purity of Lines
• Perfection of Proportions
• Refinement of Details
Characteristic Features:
• They use rectangular plans
• Temples’ gateway “propylaea”
• Collonade surrounds the temple
• Ceilings were omitted and treated with timber panelled coffers “lacunaria”
• Walls were made up of stones
• Marble structures completed the buildings
• Mural paintings on the walls of temples was highly developed
• Optical illusions were connected from horizontal lines not to appear dropping or
sagging from the center, a slight convex outlines were formed for stylobates,
cornices and architraves from the temple “Parthenon”, the same with vertical lines
for columns

36. Examples of Architectural Structures in Aegean or Early Period
•Gate of Lions, Mycenea – most ancient sculpture in Europe

37. •Palaces – used by kings or local chieftains
Palace of King Minos, Knosses

38. Palace of King Minos, Knosses

39. Tombs
1. Tholos – a subterranean stone-vaulted construction,
shaped like an old fashion beehive. It consists of a
long paasage known as “dromos” leading to domed
chamber.
2. The rock-cut or chamber tomb – a rectangular
chamber about 3.6 to 6.1m cube is cut within the
slope of a convenient hillside and approached with a
passage or “dromos” open to the sky leading on a
doorway in the rock façade.

44. Hellenic Period (650 – 323 BC)
Greek architectural style was essentially columnar and trabeated (trabs-a
beam), and this gave it that simple straight forward character in which the
constructive system is self-evident.
Temenos – sacred enclosure, also known as citadel or acropolis or upper city.
Important Structures Found in Acropolis
• Principle Temple
• Pinacotheca (picture Gallery)
• Glypotheca (picture gallery)
• Statue of Athena
• The Erectheon
• Old Temple of Athena
• The Parthenon
• Theater of Dionysos
• Stoa of Eumenes
• Odeion of Herodes Atticus
• Temple of Nike Apteros

45. •Civic squre or city square or market place – focus of Greek’s political, business and
economic life. (in greek-agora; in english-market)

46. Temples- the chief classof buildings in
the Hellenic Period; usually the plan is
rectangular in shape.
Parts of Greek Temple:
• Naos – the principal chamber
in a Greek temple containing
the statue of Deity, with
porticoes and colonnades
• Pronaos – the inner portico in
front of the naos or cella of
the naos
• Epinaos or Opisthodomus –
posticum which serves as the
treasury chamber

47. Two Ways of Describing Temples:
• According to the number of columns on the
entrance front
• By the Arrangement of the Exterior columns of the
temple in relation to the Naos as below:
HENOSTYLE – one colmumn
DISTYLE – two columns
TRISTYLE – three columns
TETRASTYLE – four columns
PENTASTYLE – five columns
HEXASTYLE – six columns
HEPTASYLE – seven columns
OCTASTYLE – eight columns
ENNEASTYLE – nine columns
DECASTYLE – ten columns
DODECASTYLE – twelve columns

48. Classical Architectural Styles

49. The Doric architectural style
was plain, sturdy, and had a
cylindrical shape. Topped with a
flat and plain square

50. Examples of doric architectural style :
Parthenon

51. The Ionic architectural style
was more elegant than the
Doric style. The columns were
taller, more delicate, and more
decorative.
The Corinthian architectural style was
similar to the Ionic style because of its
elaborate designs at the ends of the
pillars. Corinthian style was more
detailed and designs were usually
based around nature, like leaves and
flowers.

52. Terminologies
DADO - In architectural terminology, the dado is the lower part of a wall
COFFERS - A coffer (or coffering) in architecture, is a sunken panel in the shape of a
square, rectangle, or octagon in a ceiling, soffit or vault
ENTASIS - In architecture, entasis is the application of a convex curve to a surface for
aesthetic purposes. Its best-known use is in certain orders of Classical columns that
curve slightly as their diameter is decreased from the bottom upwards.
EXEDRAE OR EXEDRA - In ancient Greece exedrae were commonly found in the parts
of major cities that had been reserved for worship, such as the Acropolis in Athens.
Scholars and poets held discussions in the walled recesses, which were also used for
rest and contemplation.
VOUSSOIRS – wedge- shaped stone: a wedge – shaped brick or stone used to form
the curved parts of an arch or vault.
PROPYLAEA- A Propylaea, Propylea or Propylaia is any monumental gateway based
on the original Propylaea that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens. The
Brandenburg Gate of Berlin and the Propylaea in Munich are specifically copied from
the central portion of the Propylaea.

53. DADO

54. COFFER

55. ENTASIS
VOUSSOIR
(2)

56. PROPYLAEA

57. PINACOTHECA - A pinacotheca was a picture gallery in either
ancient Greece or ancient Rome. The name is specifically used
for the building containing pictures which formed the left wing
of the Propylaea on the Acropolis at Athens, Greece
CREPIDOMA - Crepidoma is an architectural term related to
ancient Greek buildings. The crepidoma is the platform on
which the superstructure of the building is erected.
PEDIMENT - A pediment is an element in classical, neoclassical
and baroque architecture, and derivatives therefrom,
consisting of a gable, originally of a triangular shape, placed
above the horizontal structure of the entablature, typically
supported by column
ANTEFIXAE - An antefix (from Latin antefigere, to fasten
before) is a vertical block which terminates the covering tiles of
the roof of a tiled roof

58. CREPIDOMA

59. PEDIMENT

60. ANTEFIXAE

61. •Theater – an open area structure,
which consisted of orchestra,
auditorium or cavea skene, stage,
parascenia, stoae and diazoma.
Parts of Theater
•Orchestra – circular paved space
•Auditorium or cavea – in tiers of stone
seats arranged in the horeshoe shape
around the circular paved space
(orchestra) used by the chows
•Skene 0r scene – for factors
•Stage or logeion
•Parascenia 0r dressing room
•Stoae or columnated portico
Examples of theaters in greek
architecture:

62. Public Buildings – restorian of Athens, Olympia, Dephi and
Epidaurus gave an idea of the distribution of buildings on this
famous sites.
Agora – market, place, or town square
Stoa – used around public places and as shelters and religious
shrines
Prytaneion – served as senate house for the chief dignitaries
of the city and as a place where distinguish visitors And
citizens might be entertained
Boulevterion – council house
Assembly halls – used by citizens in general
Odeion – a kindred type to the theatre, used mainly by
musician
Stadium or stadion – foots racecourse in cities where games
are celebrated
Hippodrome – building for horse and chariot racing
Palaestra – a wrestling school
Gymnasium – a place for physical exercises
Naval building – included ship-sheds and stores

63. •Tombs - “mausoleum” or monumental tombs
•Podium – a continuous pedestal; also the enclosing platform of the arena of an
amphitheatre.
•Mausoleum, Halicarnassus – the most famous of all tombs and one of the seven
wonders of the world.

64. Domestic Building or Greek House – usually one storey with
rooms built around an internal court with porticoes on three
sides and chambers grouped around
Canephora – sculptured female figures bearing baskets on
their heads
Caryatid porch – sculptured female figures used as colums
or supports
Telamon or telamones – male figure in kneeling position
supporting the world at his shouders
Atlas or atlantes – carved male figures serving as pillars